Andasibe National Park

Friday, September 30, 2011
Andasibe, Madagascar
Day 4: Tuesday 27 Sept

The Indri is the largest of the lemurs at about a metre tall, with black-and-white markings, no tail and a teddy-bear face. It looks more like a panda than a lemur. It has very powerful back-legs which can allow it to jump 10m between trees and execute turns in mid-air. However, the most striking feature of the Indri is its voice - it makes an eerie, wailing sound like that of a humpback whale, or a siren of the seas calling out to lost sailors. Indris cannot survive in captivity because they refuse to eat (hunger strike!) and the only place they are found in Madagascar is Andasibe National Park, a reserve comprising a large area of moist, montane forest. Add the park's proximity to Tana, the capital of Madagascar, and it is the most popular (and crowded) of the country's national parks. It also makes the conservation of the park essential to the survival of the species.

The drive from Tana to Andasibe took me and my driver, Potsy, through the Malagasy countryside and a chance to see how the majority of the country's people outside the major cities lived and worked. Rice growing and (near settlements) brick-making appeared to be the main industries. The road was tarmacced but prone to potholes the size of craters away from settlements. Small villages were dotted along the route, the typical house being constructed of red earth with wooden shutters for windows. The side of the road was peppered with villagers transporting goods balanced on their heads, or by bicycle or cart. Small stalls beside the road sold cooked food, fruit and vegetables. In the middle of the journey, the road zigzagged through mountains covered with thick forest, the winding road seemed to make no difference to Potsy's speed or overtaking manouevres.

I chose a place called "Feon'ny Ala" to stay in, which got good reviews in my guidebook and was situated on the edge of Andasibe NP, but seemed a bit pricey at 56,000Ar a night ($28), or only 25kAr a night with shared facilities. Since the en-suite price was more expensive than the nice room I'd had in the hotel in Tana, I was a bit taken aback when the bungalows as described in my guidebook turned out to be wooden cabins. It was like a wooden cabin/lodge I'd stayed in the Amazon or other jungle trips. It was okay though, en-suite, hot water, proper toilet, mosquito nets. The cabins weren't exactly sound-proof though, you could hear your next door neighbour go to the toilet in all its gory detail. My next door neighbours must have had a stomach bug judging by the number of times they went. It also seemed that single rooms were not catered for as I was paying for a twin bed room - at least I had somewhere to empty my backpack.

As I had my lunch in the outdoor restaurant, I heard my first Indri calls, the haunting, wailing sound carried over the treetops of the forest. I had time in the afternoon before the Park shut at 4pm for a quick 2 hour circuit (circuits ranged from 2 hours up to 6 hours, I'd be doing the longest one the following day). A 2 day permit to the Park cost me 37kAr ($18.50), which seemed like a bit of opportunism from the Park as the 1 day permit was 25kAr and the 3 day 40kAr - obviously, the 2 day permit was the most popular. You had to have a guide to enter the Park, the fees varying depending on the duration of the circuit. This afternoon's walk would set me back 15kAr ($7.50), pretty cheap really. Potsy knew a lot of the guides and chose Fidy for me because of my interest in birds and I needed someone who could speak English. I managed to see 3 species of lemur - the Indri, Eastern Woolly Lemur and Common Brown Lemur - as well as a few bird species. The highlight for me was the Giraffe-necked Weevil, an extraordinary insect on which the eyes and antennae are attached to the end of a disproportionately long neck compared to the size of its body. The male uses its elongated neck to roll up a leaf into a cup into which the female deposits a single egg. Nature at its strangest and the sort of thing I'd come to Madagascar to see.

In the evening, I went for a night walk (20kAr, $10, for about 2 hours). These were now banned in Madagascar National Parks but it was possible to do guided night walks along the road on which the Park Main Office sits. This was obviously very popular judging by the number of people along the road with their flashlights. I saw quite a few chameleons, including the Nose-horned Chameleon, one of the smallest in the world - a whole family could live in a matchbox. I saw two species of nocturnal lemur, a Dwarf Lemur and a Mouse Lemur - the Madame Berthe's species of the latter is the smallest primate in the world and could fit into an egg cup. Nocturnal lemurs tend to be virtually impossible to take photos of, either being too far away for the flash to be effective or quickly dashing off as soon as a light is shone on them. I did get a lucky shot of one of these lemur's eyes shining off the torchlight though. My guide took me on an "unofficial" detour deep into the forest, but rather than trying to spot anything, I was more worried about how I'd manage to find my way out of the pitch black forest on an unmarked trail if my guide croaked it. Still, it all added to the nervous excitement of wandering through the darkness, flashlights trying to pick out reflections of eyes in the canopy, listening to the chorus of frogs and insects. For dinner back at the lodge, I had my first taste of zebu, the local, most widespread meat. I had zebu kebabs and the meat was delicious, it was like beef but much more tender. In fact, it was so nice that I had zebu kebabs for every meal during the rest of my stay at the Lodge! This was one of those culinary discoveries whilst on holiday that you wish was available back home, like my fruitless search for a UK supplier of Inca Kola, the taste of which I grew to love on my travels in Peru.

Day 5: Wednesday 28 Sept

The next morning, I had a rather uninspiring and pricey breakfast at the Lodge. Continental breakfast comprised fruit juice, baguette, butter, jam, and tea with milk that turned lumpy when I added it - I was told this was how it was supposed to be because it was cream! The full breakfast merely added an egg and was 8,400Ar ($4.20).

At 7.30am, I started on a 6 hour trek (Circuit Indri 3) in Andasibe NP. This was the longest circuit and hence, offered more numerous and varied wildlife sighting possibilities. The guide fee was 35kAr ($17.50) for this trek. It would turn out to be a hard slog of a trek; it was roughly equal parts uphill, downhill and flat, but there somehow appeared to be more uphill sections than downhill. I'm crap at going uphill and it was tough going; it reminded me of the Inca Trail I did in Peru earlier in the year - I'd go round a bend and groan as another uphill section stared me in the face. In terms of wildlife though, it was brilliant. I saw five different lemur species, although many were amongst a gaggle of irritating tourists (mainly French) with their tripods and telephoto lens, everyone trying to get the best viewing angle through the lower vegetation. However, my guide Fidy was very pushy and always managed to jostle me into a good viewing spot. The final 2-3 hours of the walk were along a trail used exclusively for this circuit and my guide and I were the only ones on this portion as people rarely did the full 6 hour trek. During the whole trek, I saw a few families of Indri, Diademed Sifaka (including mother with baby), Common Brown Lemur, Eastern Woolly Lemur and Eastern Grey Bamboo Lemur. I also saw some Madagascar Tree Boas, lots of birds, insects, geckos, spiders, and a giant land snail. I was lucky to see the latter on the uninhabited part of the trek, otherwise surely one of the numerous French tourists would have eaten it.

In the evening, I had zebu kebab and chips again sat in the veranda of the restaurant, listening to the haunting calls of the Indri over a beer. Back in my room, I watched a couple of geckos on the bedroom wall who cleverly positioned themselves by the wall-mounted lightbulbs and happily gobbled up all the moths in the room as they were attracted to the light. Two very happy and well-fed geckos.

Day 6: Thursday 29 Sept

Across the road from Andasibe NP is Association Mitsinjo, an NGO which protects a portion of the overall forest separate from the NP and also promotes certain conservation measures. It offered much of the same wildlife but at a lower price, although there was the chance to see some different wildlife than the main park and it would be a lot less busy. I spent Thursday on a 4 hour hike in this forest and in the evening, did a night-walk through it.

The day hike was priced at 30kAr ($15) and included both the entry and guide fees. The park was a lot less visited than the main NP and we only came across a handful of other tourists and guides during the trek. The trail was a lot less established, often being just a trodden path through dense forest, and we were frequently scrambling through the steep, forested slopes tracking lemurs and birds. The wildlife sightings were much more rewarding and I was able to observe lemurs going about their business undisturbed by other tourists. I didn't see any new species of lemur, mainly Indri and Common Brown Lemurs, but saw some new birds and some great chameleon encounters, including the largest one in the reserve, the Parson's Chameleon. I also saw (or rather my guide spotted it) a Leaf-tailed Gecko - this has an amazing green and brown camouflage and skin pattern adapted to type of tree it rests on, it presses its body flat against the tree and has a frill of skin at the sides to form an imperceptible blend with the tree and eliminate a body shadow. Obviously, my guide knew where the tree it lived on was as there was no way anyone would be able to spot one walking through the forest! At the end of the trek, my guide told me I needed to pay him the guide fee. I politely told him my ticket price included the guide fee and he shut up. I know times are hard for many Malagasy people, but this outright lie made me reconsider giving him a tip.

In the evening, I went for my night-walk in the reserve with the same guide, which cost 12kAr ($6, includes entry and guide fee) for about an hour and a half. This was also quite rewarding in terms of wildlife I hadn't seen before - some frogs, baby Leaf-tailed Geckos, a crab (halfway up a tree trunk), and a Greenbul (species of bird). I also saw a couple of lemur species but again, they were impossible to take a photo of, although their eyes were impressive, shining like stars when the light from the torch hit them.

The next morning, it was time to check-out and onwards for a two day drive to Ranomafana National Park. As my first taster of wild Madagascar, I thoroughly enjoyed Andasibe NP and the Mitsinjo Reserve, especially the quieter parts where there were not so many tourists. I saw some amazing wildlife, including the Indri lemurs with their haunting calls, close encounters with other lemurs, the extraordinary Giraffe-necked Weevil, the masters of camouflage - Leaf-tailed Geckos, many bird species, and I loved the chameleons. I'm looking forward to the rest of my trip!


Expenses (excluding food, shopping and tips): $325.50    ($1 = ~2,000 Ar)

Day 4/5: 3 nights Feon'ny Ala @ 56,000Ar/night $84
Andasibe NP 2 day permit 37,000Ar ($18.50)
Guiding fees 2h walk 15kAr, night-walk 20kAr, full day walk 45kAr ($40)
Day 6:   Mitsinjo Reserve 4h walk 30kAr, night-walk 12kAr ($21)

3 days car/driver fees €40 = $54 (€1 = $1.35), total $162

Links
:
http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/fiche-aire-protegee_en.php?Ap=21

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2025-02-17

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